Three Parts of a Whole
by the hidden cupboard
Summary: Their beginning, their middle, and their end. A 3-part fic.


**1.**

Almost a year had passed, but Beck could still remember his Hollywood Arts audition like it was yesterday. He didn't study or rehearse for it. He never even told his parents it was something he planned on doing. He just showed up and waited in line with the other Hollywood Arts hopefuls, and when the time came he performed his favorite monologue ("I coulda been a contender!") from his favorite film, _On the Waterfront,_ and that was that.

When he told his friends that story, they gazed at him in admiration and told him how "cool" and "awesome" it was. When he told that story to Jade, she looked him square in the eyes and said, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

The funny thing was, Beck agreed. He knew it was reckless to come to an audition, especially such an important one, unprepared. And as his freshman year at Hollywood Arts drew to a close, he knew better than to every try that again. Jade's delivery might leave something to be desired, but truth be told, he liked her honesty.

Then again, he liked a lot of things about Jade. She was, without a doubt, the most interesting person he'd ever met. For example, the time she showed up to their monologue study one day with a bucket of red—paint? Blood? She wouldn't say which—and gave a dedicated monologue from the perspective of a failed kidney. The performance ended with her pouring the red substance over head and crying out in pain. Her classmates were stunned and Jade smiled with satisfaction as their drama teacher gave her an A. She spent the rest of the day proudly drenched in dried—whatever that was—and that was the day Beck realized his crush.

She was just unlike anyone he'd ever met. She could be mean enough to leave someone in tears, but she was also so funny she'd make Beck's sides hurt from laughing. He'd always been in love with the art of acting, but he admired Jade's dedication to the craft, as well as her ability to truly think outside the box.

At fifteen-years-old, Beck didn't date very often. Despite his budding reputation as a Hollywood Arts heartthrob, Beck rarely actively sought out romantic relationships. The truth was, he just wasn't that interested. He liked most girls well enough, but none had successfully captured his attention like Jade had. His longest relationship had been with a girl named Amanda, whom he dated for two months. There was nothing wrong with her; she was nice, pretty, and a great dancer. They shared popcorn at the movies, talked for an hour on the phone every night, and kissed on their third date. The whole arrangement was very all-American.

The problem was, Beck wasn't American, and he was very, very bored.

He called it off after he dreamt he was a character in a novel, a la _Stranger than Fiction_, whose entire life was being planned by some outside force (Amanda). His former hippie parents were firm believers in the meanings of dreams, and Beck figured it was as good as any reason to break up with her. So he and Amanda went their separate ways, and Beck spent most of his freshmen year concentrating on his passion: acting.

At least, that was the _plan_. His plan was ruined the minute Jade made eye contact with him as she kneeled onstage with red pouring down her face. He felt immobilized in his seat, oblivious to anything else but the slow smile she cast in his direction. Suddenly, his plan was nothing but a memory. And he liked it that way.

* * *

Beck and Jade first met at freshman orientation. Beck was in the auditorium sitting next to a black boy with a head full of tiny brown twists named Andre, and the two were leaning back in their seats discussing the upcoming school year. They had just met, but already Beck knew he liked the boy a lot.

They'd sat through a few performances from older students to get an idea of where they could be in a few years, and Beck had to admit the kids were really good. They were introduced to a few teachers (Beck's favorite was a balding man named Sikowitz, but they wouldn't have him until sophomore year), and then listened to a speech made by Principal Eikner. Afterward, the students were left to interact with each other and explore the school.

"Music is my favorite thing in the world," Andre was saying. He'd brought his keyboard with him and was playing a few notes so naturally that Beck wasn't even sure he was aware of what he was doing. "I've been singing since I was in diapers, and playing the piano since I was potty trained. My grandma used to make me perform for all her friends."

He coughed. "Before she uh, lost her mind."

Beck smiled, and motioned to his keyboard. "Mind if I get a taste?"

Andre put both of his hands on the piano and, without a second, thought burst out a lively, colorful tune that caused other students to take notice. Several others—clearly musicians—pulled out their instruments and followed along, creating a full on jam session in the middle of the auditorium. Kids started dancing to the beat as teachers looked on approvingly.

When it was over, Beck slapped Andre on the back and smiled. "Hey, you're really talented!"

Andre grinned back, "Thanks, man."

Beck felt a tap on his shoulder. He and Andre turned in their seats. "Hi!" cried a small girl, with hair the color of red velvet. She was sitting behind them with her hands beneath her knees and practically bouncing in her seat.

"Hello," Beck replied. He reached out a ringed finger and shook her hand. Andre's hand shot out to do the same.

"Nice to meet you," Andre asked smoothly, causing the red-haired girl to giggle. "I'm Andre, and this is Beck."

"Cat Valentine."

"I like your hair," Andre complimented.

"Thanks!" She flipped a lock over her shoulder and bat her eyes at him cutely. She bounced a little in her seat. "That was a great performance, Andre! I'm so excited to be here! Isn't this the best?"

"That it is, Lil Red." Andre agreed. Beck sat amusedly and watched his new friend try to hit on her. The girl _was_ very pretty, albeit a bit spacey.

The three chatted for awhile, and toured a few classrooms together, and by the end of the day Beck was sure he'd made the right choice in Hollywood Arts. Everyone had such great energy, and the school reminded him of one of his favorite 80's movies, _Fame_. He was more than ready to start classes.

They were meandering through the hallways and checking out the decorated lockers when Cat gasped and jumped up and down. "Jade?"

Beck and Andre watched as their new friend ran over to another girl who was very pointedly ignoring a white kid with cornrows in his hair. Jade looked up from her pearphone and her sour expression turned to a grimace when she saw Cat.

"Jade!" Cat ran up and hugged her, despite the fact the brunette stood still. "Yay, you got in!"

"Yes," Jade sighed. "And somehow, so did you." She glanced at the boy with cornrows and barked, "Sinjin! _Leave_."

"Okay!" The boy breathed. He slunk away and Cat grabbed Jade's hand and dragged her to the others. "Come meet my friends! This is Beck, and this is Andre."

"Fascinating," Jade replied, her voice indicating she thought it was anything but. Cat giggled and said, "She's funny, isn't she? This is Jade, we met at our auditions!"

Jade nodded toward Andre. "I heard you play," she said, brushing away a long piece of brown hair. Beck noticed her wince slightly when her finger accidentally touched the silver in her nose. A new piercing, probably, he thought. "You're really good."

"Thanks," Andre said, and Jade switched her attention to Beck. Glancing him up and down she asked, "And let me guess…you're a model?"

Beck laughed and reached out his hand. "Thanks, but no. Although, I did do some print work when I was—"

"That wasn't a compliment," she said, cutting him off. "And I'm definitely not interested in your back story." She ignored his hand and turned to Cat. "I'm hungry."

"So," Beck started, and tucked his hand into his jeans' pocket. He felt the need to try and make a good impression with this girl, and decided to ask her about herself. "What are you—"

He never got to finish his question because she promptly walked away, her shoulder bumping his as she passed. He watched her leave, admiring the way her curly brown hair fell down her back.

"Uh, let's go check out The Asphalt," Andre said, trying to ease the awkwardness. "I hear the food cart out there has great burritos.

* * *

As the school year went on, Beck became more situated at Hollywood Arts. He was used to his classes, he liked all of his teachers, and he really liked his friends. He considered himself a man of sound judgment and he enjoyed the company he kept. His friends were good people. He and Andre were very close and other students were so used to saying "Beck and Andre" that they addressed them as such even when they were apart. Andre's attraction to Cat had passed rather quickly, and he and Beck viewed her more like a little sister than anything else.

Beck even liked the newest addition to their group, a master ventriloquist named Robbie. He was weird and extremely nerdy, but a good kid all around. (Beck also felt they owed big for his idea to start a fake ping pong team to get free expensive dinners from the school.)

Beck's grades were good and his acting improved with every class. In other words, life was going really well for Beck. And as his first year at Hollywood Arts was drawing to a close, he had a feeling it was about to get even better: He'd decided to ask out Jade.

"Go for it," Andre said when Beck told him of his intentions. "I think she's into you. I mean, how could she say no?"

Beck hated himself for it, but he kind of agreed. But not because he felt he was irresistible, or anything like that. He just thought he had gotten signals from Jade that couldn't be misread. Take last week, for example, when she voluntarily drew a portrait of him at lunch.

She'd used a brown crayon to draw Beck's body, and gave him long, flowing black hair that ran off the edge of the page. Beside his head was the image of a giant pair of scissors. At the top of the paper she'd attached a coupon for $5 off at Supercuts.

"Why do I get the feeling there's a hidden message here?" He joked. She smirked at him from across the lunch table and mimed a scissor-motion with her fingers.

He pocketed the picture, and when he showed up the next day with significantly shorter hair, she told him he almost resembled a "real boy". He took that as a compliment.

To others it would appear nothing more than a normal relationship between two friends, but the thing was, Jade didn't treat her other "friends" the same way she treated him. She was civil to them, even nice, sometimes, but they didn't get crayon drawings or detailed feedback after a performance like Beck did.

That was the other thing that made him think she liked him, by the way. She seemed to pay particularly close attention to him when he stepped on stage, and was always ready with constructive criticism when he stepped down.

"More emotion," she would say bluntly. "You just lost your best friend; you wouldn't be so calm about it."

He never asked for it, but he always appreciated it. He liked how much she cared about acting, and he liked having such free access to her opinions. He liked the way she stomped through the hallways, so unaffected by everyone else. Her confidence, her quirks, her face…He just liked _her._

So when he sat down at their lunch table that morning and found her sitting alone, his mind was set.

"Where is everyone?" Beck asked, biting into a taco.

Jade looked up from a black book with pearly white fangs on the cover, and immediately looked back down. "Puppet boy is doing some tech assignment and Andre had a meeting with his music teacher. Not that I care."

"And Cat?"

She turned a page. "She's busy telling everyone who will listen about her date with Johnny Boy last night. Apparently, his dad has a yacht, and happy funtimes were had by all." she said, imitating Cat's high-pitched voice.

"Huh," Beck said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should do that."

"Do what, party on a yacht?" Jade asked, rolling her eyes. "Call me when you've got millions of dollars to throw away on a boat."

Beck smiled. "No, I mean maybe we should go on a date."

Jade froze and her book fell onto the table. She tried to form words, but nothing came out. Finally, she choked out, "A _what?_"

"A date," Beck replied calmly. "You know, two people getting to know each other better, maybe over dinner and a movie, a walk in the park..."

"I hate parks," she murmured absentmindedly. She put a hand to her forehead, as if to feel her temperature and asked, "Is this a joke? Why would you want to date _me_?"

"Because I like you," He said simply. "And I'd really like to get to know you better."

And then the unthinkable happened: Jade blushed. Red crept up her neck and splashed onto her cheeks and the whole thing made Beck feel really good. "So how about it?" He asked.

Jade regained her composure enough to stick her nose in the air. "No."

"No?" He asked, confused. "But, I thought you liked me?"

"I guess you thought wrong." Jade shrugged and got up to leave the table. She slung her bag over her shoulder and disappeared, leaving Beck to contemplate what she'd said. Andre stepped up to the table and asked, "What just happened?"

Beck furrowed his brows, still staring at the empty space Jade left behind, as if willing her to appear and tell him she was just kidding.

"I think I just got rejected."

* * *

It was all anyone could talk about at school the next day. Beck Oliver asked out Jade West and she _turned him down_! Beck Oliver, the freshman even senior girls crushed on! It was unheard of.

By the end of the day, the story had grown to unreasonable proportions. Beck was now an utterly lovesick puppy who cried when his heart was stomped on by Jade in a very public smackdown dozens of students claimed they saw. The worst thing about going to a performing arts school, Beck thought, was that everyone was _so_ dramatic. People were treating him like he'd had a death in the family.

A girl he shared acting classes with, Melanie, ambushed him in the hallway between classes. "Sorry about Jade, Beck. She can be such a _gank _sometimes. You deserve better. Hey, you're auditioning forthe play this Friday right? We should run lines together!"

Beck unhooked his arm from hers and politely said, "No thanks" and told her he'd see her in class later. He was more annoyed by her comments about Jade than he was about the gossip. He also wasn't enjoying the constant stream of apologies or "comfort" the other kids offered him. Beck wasn't fond of pity. At least Amanda, his ex, cast him dirty looks in the hallway. It was the most refreshing thing he'd seen all day.

As the end of the school day neared, Beck looked forward to going home for the first time in, well, his life. He shut his locker and picked his backpack from the ground when Robbie and Cat came looking like the Bearers of Even More Bad News.

"Hey, Beck," Robbie said, with Rex perched in his arms. Cat's eyes were bigger than ever, and she was wringing her hands in anxiousness.

"Hi," Beck sighed. He glanced around at his classmates, who were huddled around their phones and whispering. "Come to give me your condolences?"

Cat winced and said, "Well..."

"She made you look like a fool, fool!" Rex interrupted.

Beck shook his head. "I don't believe this," he said. He raised his voice and turned to address his schoolmates. "Hasn't anyone been turned down before? It happens; this isn't a big deal!"

Which wasn't exactly true. Beck hadn't quite gotten over the dusappointment of being rejected by Jade, but he wasn't ready to talk about that yet. He just really wanted to be left alone, or at least left to hash it out with Andre over pizza and bad movies.

Robbie and Rex exchanged glances-if that was possible. "Actually," Robbie began. "It kind of is a big deal. Look at what Jade just posted on the internet."

Beck felt a deep sense of dread as Cat pressed play on her pearphone and held it up so that he could see it. She watched him carefully. "Please don't be mad!" She cried, covering her eyes with her free hand.

It was a one-page website with a giant picture of Beck's face ontop of a cartoon baby's body. Big, flashing block letters read BECK WAH-LIVER and CLICK ME.

Beck watched in shock as Cat tapped the screen, and the giant head bopped as a whiny imitation of his voice played, "I like you!" She tapped the screen again and it said, "Let's go on a DATE!" And again. "Please say you love me!" "Are you my mommy?" "Baby needs changing!"

Robbie shook his head. "Boy, would hate to be in your shoes, right now, Beck. The whole school has seen it! What are you going to do? Beck?"

Robbie looked up to find that Beck was gone. He looked at Cat and then motioned to the screen. "Well, don't you agree?" She clutched her phone and looked uncertain, so he continued. "I mean, how can he even think of showing his face around school again? Oh, look, someone dropped a nickel!"

He bent down and touched the coin. "Oh, it's just a wad of old gum. Anyway, as I was saying...Cat?"

But Cat was nowhere to be found. Robbie sighed. "Why do they always leave without saying goodbye?"

"Nobody likes you!" Replied the puppet.

* * *

"Hey, Jade," Beck approached her as she finished gluing a pair of scissors on her locker. She stood back to admire her handiwork and then turned to face him. He caught what looked like nervousness cross her features, but whatever it was, it was quickly replaced by her trademark smirk.

"Hey, loverboy. Come to ask me out some more?" She crooned.

"No," his voice was firm.

She looked taken back by his bluntness, and then she was angry. "Why not?" She demanded. "Suddenly, I'm not good enough?"

"What-? No! Listen, why did you make that website?"

Her smirk returned. "Hm, 'website'. You'll have to be more specific.".

"The one with my head over a baby's body!" It was taking everything in him not to scream.

"Oh," she smiled. "_That _website. I got Sinjin and the techies to help me make it. You like it?"

"No, Jade. I don't. That wasn't a very nice thing to do."

He wasn't yelling, but his tone was firm enough to cause the same effect. Jade's mouth dropped open and he continued. "I told you I liked you, and I meant it. And okay, you don't like me back, I get it. Fine. But you don't have to embarrass me in front of the whole school."

"Yeah, well," she attempted to retaliate. "You embarrassed me first!"

Now his voice rose. "_What_?"

"With your 'date' and pretending to like me," Jade stubbornly went on. "As if I was going to buy that!"

"But I did like you! I still do, even, though you've made sure I can never show my face at Hollywood Arts again." _  
_

Jade's face fell, and she looked completely confused. "You still like me? After I've been nothing but mean to you?"

Beck was caught off guard. He scratched at his neck and shrugged. "Well, yeah."

Her brows dipped and she actually looked remorseful. She was quiet for a few moments before saying, "I didn't want to embarrass you."

Beck gave an ironic laugh. "Yeah, well, for someone who wasn't out to embarrass me, you sure did a good job."

"It was just a stupid joke, I didn't think anyone would actually see it." She kept her gaze downcast and said in low tones, "I'm... sorry if it hurt your feelings."

Beck really hadn't expected an apology, and it was difficult to keep his surprise from showing on his face. "Thank you," he said sincerely.

Even though he was still a little upset with her, he couldn't help but notice how adorable she was when she was ashamed. Her face settled into a pout and she twisted a lock of brown hair between her fingers. After nearly a year of knowing her, he still wasn't used to the effect her most innocent mannerisms could have on him.

Jade nodded, and they stood in an awkward silence, looking everywhere but at each other. Beck was suddenly incredibly aware of the space between them, and how easily he could close it. He wondered what it would feel like to kiss her. The thought made him blush.

"Um, so," he cleared his throat.

"Cat needs my help with some costuming thing, so I have to go." she interrupted, and for that Beck was grateful. Anymore silence like that, and he would have done something stupid, like actually try and kiss her.

She tugged on the bottom of her black skirt and shouldered her purse. "But there's a midnight showing of Young Frankenstein at the local graveyard tonight."

Beck briefly wondered if Jade had a curfew, but figured that even if she did she wouldn't be the type to follow it. "I love Young Frankenstein," he said slowly, unsure if she was actually implying what he hoped she was implying. "It's a great movie."

"Yeah, a real classic," Jade said impatiently. "So do you want to go?"

Oh, he was definitely going to drag this out. "You mean like on a date?"

"I wouldn't use the word," she sniped. "I prefer to call it...'taking you on a yacht'."

"But I thought you didn't like me." He couldn't stop the grin that was overtaking his face. He honestly couldn't believe it.

"Do you want to go out with me or not?" She demanded. There was something about the fire that appeared in her eyes when she was annoyed that Beck knew he could get addicted to.

He reached out and took her hand in his, forcing her to hold eye contact. "I'd like that a lot, actually."

He half-expected her to beat him over the head with her purse, but instead she looked at her hand in his and smiled. He felt her intertwine their fingers and then squeeze his hand gently before letting go.

"Good," Jade said. She clutched the strap of her purse and ducked her head and left, but not before Beck could see her grin. "I'm going to go find Cat."

And just like that, she walked by him, leaving Beck in almost exactly the same manner they'd met. Except, this time when she bumped her shoulder with his, he knew it was flirtatious. And when she glanced back to him at the end of the hallway and he lifted his hand to wave, he was left the entirely pleasant feeling that his life at Hollywood Arts had truly just begun.

* * *

This will be a 3-part story mainly detailing the beginning, middle, and "end" of Jade and Beck's relationship at Hollywood Arts. Chapter 2 of "Andre's Hard Decision" should be up by tomorrow, hopefully.

Thanks for reading.


End file.
